Branded
by Fantasy-Writers
Summary: The day his skin turned green, Toad realized he was a to be forever branded as a freak. He was forced to make the decision to leave the orphanage which he called home and find a new life. It was then that Toad found his first 'family.' AU, I guess.
1. Prologue

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**Prologue **

_I hope you've seen the light, because no one really cares, they're just pretending._

It is said that your life as an adult is influenced by that of your childhood.

Toad, or otherwise, Mortimer Toynbee, had grown up at an orphanage. He wasn't really sure as to the fate of his parents but as he grew up and began to learn that he was different, that he was _special_, he figured that his parents may have known about his secret abilities and therefore left him at the orphanage at a young age because they were _scared._ At first when he began to notice the change, he was scared too, but a certain gang of people changed all that… However, let us begin this tale from the beginning, not from the middle.

It was Mortimer's fifteenth birthday, and not only that but he began to notice a great amount of change in himself. When he looked in the mirror that morning he could swear his skin and dark brown hair looked a shade of green and that his eyes had a glint of gold in them. But when he took a closer look, he was just his plain old self. Plain old Mortimer. He smiled away the hint of fear that had begun to manifest itself inside of him and walked over to his wardrobe. He pulled on a second hand pair of jeans and an out-of-fashion t-shirt. Mortimer shrugged, he was an orphan; fashion was nothing when you didn't have the money to afford the clothes.

A loud snore issued throughout the room and Mortimer side glanced at his roommate, Ian. The boy was still asleep and tangled in his covers. Mortimer shrugged again, it was the holidays. They had no specific wake-up time and it wasn't like the nuns were violent. He smiled as he exited the room, heading down to the kitchens for breakfast.

It was quiet that morning; most children slept in as a result of the holidays. Not Mortimer though. He liked to be up bright and early. It was a waste to sleep away half the day. He grabbed a tray from the shelf along the wall and piled on food from the breakfast buffet. When he had taken what he believed was the sufficient amount of food for a growing teenager he turned to search for a place to sit and eat. He could see his friend Jennifer, or Jenny, as she was fondly nicknamed, waving him over. Mortimer smiled and waved back, heading over to her table.

"How'd you sleep last night?" Jenny smiled cheekily, "Was Ian snoring much?"

"Why ask about something you already know?" Mortimer answered through a mouthful of scrambled eggs, "He kept me up half the night with his moronic thoughts, then proceeded to snore the rest of the night." He yawned to emphasize his point and Jenny smiled again.

"Happy birthday, Mort." She announced suddenly, hugging him and pressing a large wrapped present into his hands.

"What is it?"

"A new backpack. You've only just been complaining for a year that your old one was falling apart."

"How'd you afford it?" Mortimer gave her a thorough look, "You didn't steal-"

"Of course not! Don't you remember that I got a job working at that corner store?"

"Oh. Right." Mortimer said, feeling slightly ashamed.

That's when he realized that his fork was stuck to his hand.

"What the hell?" Mortimer shook his hand repeatedly. The fork flew off and clattered to the floor, Jenny gave him a worried look.

"The fork- It- Don't worry." Mortimer cut himself off quickly. The fear from before, sparked itself alive again and grew.

-.-.-.-

"What are you doing in there?" Ian called out, whilst banging on the bathroom door. "Seriously dude, it's been almost an hour already and I really need to use the can!"

Mortimer jumped in shock. He wasn't expecting Ian to sudden start banging and hollering at the bathroom door. He had been in the process of inspecting his eyes. They had definitely gone a whole shade darker than before and the golden glint in them was more pronounced. What the hell was happening to him? It was like he was some freak of nuclear radiation or…

Mutation.

Mortimer shuddered, he almost felt like screaming his lungs out in horror. He_couldn't_ be a mutant. His life would be ruined. Up until this moment, he had been a perfectly normal child but now, he was turning into one of the freaks that he'd heard about on television.

"Hurry up, Mort!"

"Alright, alright…" Mortimer stopped poking at his eyes and stepped away from the mirror, he quickly flushed the toilet to pretend that he was doing something otherwise and rinsed his hands before exiting the bathroom. Ian gave him a weird stare as he exited.

"You took a year in there man, what were you _doing?_ Did you have a shower in the toilet or something?" Ian snorted at his own joke, shook his head then entered the bathroom, locking the door behind him.

Mortimer examined his hands. It was more pronounced now; his hands had definitely gone greener; slimier too, come to think of it.

Just like a toad.

Mortimer shuddered again. Of all the mutations that he could have had, why this? Why did he have to end up with such a life impairing mutation; to look like and take upon the characteristics of a toad. If he had to have a mutation, which he would rather not, he wished he could have one that didn't change his physical appearance. He wished he could have a mutation that he would never have to show and be able to live a happy simply life.

_I probably won't live to see the next day; I'll probably wake up as a toad._

Mortimer felt like crying. He felt like running, running until he collapsed and died, running until he found somewhere to live all by himself and never see other people or the light of day again and till the day he died.

_I'm a freak. I'm a mutated, genetic freak of nature. I should kill myself here and now to spare myself the agony of life as a freak._

But he couldn't bring himself to fully believe his own thoughts. The words ran through his head, thoughts and images manifested themselves and blurred together; everything seemed to be the same and yet different and he couldn't remember when this all began or if it would ever end. Mortimer began to hyperventilate; a pounding rhythm started in his head and he began to feel lost inside his own mind, however then one image stood clear and its clarity drew him towards it.

Jenny.

She was a perfect image of beauty. She was intelligent and kind. She was Mortimer's best friend, his first friend, first crush. Her smiling face stood out in his mind with crystal clarity and he closed his eyes and concentrated on it. After awhile, he found that he could breathe easier and his head didn't feel as though someone was smashing it open with a jackhammer.

"Okay…" He breathed out, softly. He needed to think this all over. What he would do. Where would he go, now that he was a freak.

"Close your mouth; you might begin drooling all over the carpet." Mortimer was jolted out of his thoughts as Ian clapped him on the back in a friendly way.

"I wasn't drooling."

"I never said you were, I said you might begin- What the hell is up with you?!" Ian yelled out in shock and Mortimer jumped backwards in fright. "Sorry, I just meant, you look really sick. You're going all green man."

So Ian hadn't caught on… yet. Ian was annoying but he wasn't an idiot. It was only a matter of time before he realized what was happening to Mortimer and then he would tell everyone in the orphanage and they would reject Mortimer as a monster.

He needed to act, and fast.

"I'm feeling a bit ill actually," He lied easily, planning it all out in his mind's eye. "I'm gonna go up to our room and lie down for a bit, you don't have to come up with me," He added quickly, "You should go apologize to Jenny for that prank you pulled on her yesterday…"

His plan worked; Ian nodded and wandered off in the opposite direction to Mortimer while muttering, "I sorted this out with her yesterday and she's _still_ angry? Jesus, girls are hard to impress…"

Mortimer leapt up the stairs, literally. He looked down at his own two legs in wonderment. _Toad,_ he thought, _leaping is a characteristic of a toad._ He spent no more time thinking or contemplating this new element of his mutation, he simply leapt up the rest of the staircase and ran into his room. _Bag, bag, bag._

Mortimer grabbed the backpack that Jenny had given him for his birthday and ran over to the wardrobe. He threw it open and stuffed the backpack full of random items of clothing. _Oh hell, what about food? No, food isn't a priority now. I can always steal it when I'm hungry or something. Now is the time for action._ He filled most of the bag with his clothes then ran over to his bedside table. He threw a pocket knife in his bag, _never know when those could come in handy_ and then he stood in the middle of his room lost in his thoughts. He hadn't realized that, as an orphan, he never really had any treasured possessions; he never had anything to remember someone by.

No, there was no time for regret or self-pity. He had to leave. Now.

Mortimer ran out the door, and, instead of taking the stairs, leapt from the second floor to the ground floor. He landed easily, finding that leaping came more as an instinct, as if it was something that he'd been born to do. He ran down the corridors, not seeing anybody, probably they were all out in the recreation hall or outdoors, enjoying their holiday. _Lucky humans, _he thought. Such a strange thing to say, though. He thought of normal beings as humans now, but what did that make him?

Mutant. Monster.

He felt like laughing; M & M; mutant and monster. _I'm losing it definitely, I'm going mental._ He could see it in his sight now; the open door. He was going to be free now, he would never see any of his friends again. From now on, Mortimer would be alone.

"Mort!"

Oh god.

"What's happening? What's wrong Mort?"

Jenny.

Mortimer slowly turned on the spot to face Jenny. She gasped in shock when she looked at him; his hair had almost fully turned green, along with his skin and his eyes were now definitely a liquid golden black color. He smiled sadly at her. She ran her fingers through her light brown hair as though she were frustrated or worn out.

"Mort is that you?" Jenny whispered.

"Yes." He answered, he was surprised to hear his voice was steady. "It's me Jenny. This is me, I'm a freak, a mutant-"

"Stop." Jenny cut him off. She stepped forward into the golden late-afternoon light. Her beautiful face was illuminated by the sun, her blue eyes glittered with emotion. "You're running away aren't you."

It was a statement rather than a question and Mortimer nodded sadly.

"Why?"

He was surprised to hear that question. Jenny was the most intelligent girl he knew, he thought she would have figured it out easily.

"You know I can't stay here like this. I'm a freak of nature. I'm a walking freakshow. I can't live amongst humans like this, Jenny. I have to leave. I have to find somewhere, some place that can accept me for what I am."

"You are human Mort." Jenny whispered, a tear slid down her perfect face, "Why can't you just stay here? No one has seen you yet, why can't you just give this life a try?"

"You've seen the news reports, you've seen the videos." Mortimer said, his voice coming out harsh and yet afraid, "People detest mutants like me, they'll torture me, or worse, kill me for what I am. I have to leave and you know it Jenny."

Jenny didn't say anything for awhile and they stood in silence, staring at each other. Tears coursed down her face rapidly now.

"I know." She whispered finally. She walked up to him and softly kissed him.

"Go Mortimer, go and find the life you 'need'." She said it skeptically and almost angrily.

"I love you Jenny." He said.

He meant to say 'I will be back for you' but he couldn't get the words out. Instead, he pushed open the doors to the orphanage and leapt out, out into the golden light. Out and away the safe place he had called home for so many years.

And so he leapt into his new life, as a mutant.

-.-.-.-

Yeah, that's my first chapter, or prologue, whatever. xD

I'm not very good at writing and hoping to improve. However, hoped you enjoyed it, somehow, and please review!


	2. Family

**Chapter One**

_And I'll fold my paper plane out of sadness and soar into that blue sky, to find only my happiness and dreams._

He bounded, leapt, threw himself off the ground and through the air. Wind blew his spiky green hair back off his young, lime-colored face. He smiled through his mental anguish, releasing the loneliness and sorrow in his heart and embracing the soaring adrenaline that raced through his veins in joy of leaping. He knew, he knew that everything had been building up to this moment. To this time, to this place where he would be free; and he could move, live and breathe without someone watching him, supervising him.

And yet, somehow, he hated and loved his mutation. He hated and loved his own self, his own being. He was a freak. He was a mutant. He was special. What a peculiar word to use; special. But that's what he was, he supposed. He was better than ordinary humans. He was stronger, different and much more evolved. Mortimer was not a human; he was a different species altogether. That's what he told himself anyway.

He had been traveling for awhile now. If you could call it traveling; in all truth, he had traveled due west of the orphanage to a small town. It was night time when he arrived and he spent almost an hour examining his new mutated self. He found a new trait of his. His hands, well all his skin, had an adhesive quality which let him stick to other surfaces; he found that he was able to climb walls because of this. It did not matter that he wore shoes and his feet could not stick; as long as he hurled himself up quickly, and found a reasonably dry surface, he would be able to hold himself onto walls, ceilings… Whatever.

After he finished determining his mutations, Mortimer had decided to head for the city. He didn't really have a reason for his decision. He just felt drawn to that place, as though fate pulled him in that direction, and so he would follow. He had been to the city only a few times in his life; on excursions mostly. Once, he, Jenny and Ian had gone to the city for the day, accompanied by one of the orphanage's nuns. They had eaten ice cream whilst feeding pigeons their 'home-made' sandwiches, which they all detested.

Jenny… Ian… Mortimer thought of them now, wistfully. He shook his head as to rid himself of his own thoughts. He couldn't think about them anymore. The moment he leapt out those doors, he had left behind his old life. He was no longer the dependent young orphan that he once was. Now he was a new Mortimer Toynbee, cool and in control, full of desire for greatness and a mutant physical body to accomplish his dreams.

He was shitting himself. He had no dreams. His dream right now was to be able to get a good amount of food in his stomach and a warm, humid place to sleep. Humid? Mortimer shook his head. His alikeness to toads was getting to his head.

The city lights loomed just ahead. He could see the towering sky scrapers, bright neon company logos, huge billboards and signs flashing with golden light. It was a beautiful view. Mortimer smiled. It was the first time he had ever been to the city by himself. He slowed down his bounding to a walk and, self-consciously, maybe even out of defense, pulled the hoodie part of his jacket over his face.

Now people would think he was one of them.

_Assimilation much, _Mortimer almost laughed; it was just the sort of thing Ian would say. There was a sharp pang in his chest. _Don't think about it, just concentrate on surviving._ And his thoughts were wise indeed, for what good is sorrow or pity for yourself when you have no place to stay, no one to love you and none of any of life's necessities at hand.

Mortimer walked silently down the sidewalk, bumping into some people and avoiding others. No one gave him a second glance. That's how he preferred it though; to be invisible. Yet so, he couldn't help but feel slightly annoyed and as though he wished he could show off. He wasn't as weak or simple-minded as these humans. He was a mutant; one of God's chosen ones; chosen to be evolved into greater beings than humans.

However, Mortimer's mutation (and society's unwillingness to accept genetic mutation) made him realize that he may be forced to live in secrecy for the rest of his life. And so, his hate and distain for humans grew a little larger. There was a tinkling sound at his feet as he accidentally kicked a metallic object.

Mortimer bent down to pick up whatever it was that he had kicked. He heard a woman gasp as he reached down with a green, slightly webbed hand to pick up a Zippo lighter on the concrete. He grabbed it then stuffed the lighter, along with his hands, into his pockets. The woman gave him a horrified look before getting a firm grip on her child and hurrying off, looking back every now and then to make sure the mutant wasn't following them or worse. Mortimer felt stunned and hurt. Just because he happened to be a mutant didn't mean that he was a stalker, rapist or cold-blooded murderer.

He put his head down and walked even more quickly than before. His heart began pounding in his chest, threatening to explode right of his rib cage. His head began to spin and the food that he had eaten so long ago and should have been digested now rose up as bitter bile in his throat. He stopped walking and ducked into an alleyway. Mortimer pulled his hood down, taking deep gulps of air, attempting to calm his self down.

And then, all of a sudden, Mortimer's head was pulled backwards so fast that he swore his spine almost snapped. Smooth, cold metal rested across the windpipe of his throat. Mortimer choked out a frightened breath.

"What are you doing here, mutant?" A voice demanded icily- male, definitely. It was an unpleasant voice, Mortimer found himself associating this voice to the sound of sandpaper rubbing against rough wood. He almost laughed. Here he was making analogies to some madman's voice while at the threat of death. Mortimer decided he must have some serious mental problem, and then went back to focusing on the situation at hand.

"I-was just- resting for a bit-" Mortimer managed to choke out and the hand gripping his hair pulled back even further. Tears pricked at the corners of Mortimer's eyes. Pain, oh the pain.

"No, no, no…" The voice sounded condescending, "From the way I see it, you were using your freak powers to attack me, and here I was an innocent man fending for my life when I accidentally _killed_ the little freak."

"Look- you've got it wrong, I-"

"Don't you dare lecture me mutant!" The voice shrieked. Mortimer felt the blade beginning to press painfully tight against the skin of his neck; a trickle of blood ran down his throat, coming to rest on the material of his jumper. He had tried reasoning. Now he had no choice.

Mortimer tensed his whole body, and then with a twist and a leap, freed himself from his attacker. He gripped onto the side of a building, before pushing off and kicking the other man in the chest with both feet. The man flew a few feet before slamming into the wall of the opposite building; his body fell into some indistinguishable liquid with a splash.

Mortimer stood up from the crouch that he had landed in from his leap. He stared at the man for a few moments, trying to decipher his own thoughts but gave up and turned around, only to find himself facing three new people, who he immediately assumed to be foes.

"You'll regret that mutant." The largest one of them said. Alright, so he was inevitably going to face incredible pain or death. At least he was right about the assumption that they were foes. _One point for Mortimer._ He thought, sarcastically.

It happened all in one moment. The three men advanced towards him and Mortimer instinctively stepped backwards. Then there was the sound of wind rustling through the air and there was a bright crack of light. Somehow, in some way, Mortimer seemed to have guardian angels in heaven. Two boys, one tall one of average height, appeared seemingly out of nowhere. The shorter boy seemingly skated through the air and perched in front of Mortimer and the tall one, who appeared to be of Asian descent, looked as though he absorbed light from the surroundings, and with this light he created two crescent shaped golden blades.

"I've gone and lost all my marbles now." Mortimer heard the words slip out of his mouth. The flying boy turned and gave him a cheeky grin, then thrust out one of his palms in the direction of the attackers. The effect was instantaneous; a blast of wind seemed to issue from the boy and all three opponents went flying backwards. They landed awkwardly on the concrete and quickly scrambled to their feet, yelling at the tops of their lungs and running helter skelter away from Mortimer's saviors.

Mortimer stood frozen on the spot in awe and fright. The Asian boy let go of the two blades which had been wielding before and they faded into darkness then walked over to Mortimer, running a hand casually through his bleached blonde hair.

"Who-Who are you people?" Mortimer asked, feeling ashamed as his voice wavered with his terror.

The Asian boy smiled. "My name is Song Jin, that crazy bugger there is Mark," He pointed over to the boy who was still floating in mid-air; "Better known as Aeolus, and if you give us the chance, you can be part of our dysfunctional family."

Mortimer swayed on the spot, taking these words in. Part of a family? Mortimer had never had family before; the closest people he had ever had to a family were Ian and Jenny. He didn't know how to answer the other boy so he just simply asked; "You… You're like me, aren't you?"

"If you mean by us being muties, then, yes. Although I wouldn't say we're similar to you in the mental crazy green dude category." Aeolus said with a mischievous smile.

"He's just joking, kid." Song Jin gave Aeolus a dirty look and the other boy simply flipped upside down in the air, poking his tongue out.

"My name's Mortimer. But you can call me Toad."

"I'm God. Welcome to the family."

-.-.-.-

Sorry if that sounded a little contrived. I just wanted the story to get a move on and I haven't been sleeping enough these days hehe.

Thanks for your review foxfire222 I hope I can get this story out of my head and finished quickly Thanks for reading


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